Tony Stark
| aliases = Iron Man; Anthony Edward Stark | continuity = Iron Man | image = | notability = | type = | race = | gender = | base of operations = Manhattan, New York City, New York | known relatives = Howard Stark (father, deceased); Maria Stark (mother, deceased); Morgan Stark (cousin); Howard Stark, Sr. (grandfather, deceased); Edward Stark (uncle) | status = Alive | born = | died = | 1st appearance = ''Tales of Suspense'' #39 | actor = John Vernon Invincible Iron Man (1966) Robert Hays Iron Man (1994) Brad Godleski''Avengers Assemble! Marc WordenUltimate Avengers; Ultimate Avengers 2 Tom KennySuper-Hero Squad Show Eric LoomisAvengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Adrian PetriwIron Man: Armored Adventures Adrian PasdarUltimate Spider-Man Robert Downey, Jr.Iron Man film series; The Avengers (2012) Davin Ransom Iron Man 2 (2010) }} Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, generally referred to as just Tony Stark, is the real name of the costumed superhero known as Iron Man. Although he is not the only comic book character to utilize the name, Tony is the principal character featured in the Iron Man family of comic titles, films and video games. The character was created by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and artist Don Heck in March, 1963 and first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #39. In the film series, he is played by actor Robert Downey, Jr. and also appears in The Avengers feature film. Personality Tony Stark is the epitome of the classic spoiled rich kid. He is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and as such, has the arrogance, poise, charm and aloofness befitting a man of his station. He is outspoken, gregarious and fun and even a bit of a womanizer, but when it comes to matters of running a multi-billion dollar corporation or maintaining the security of the free world - he is all business. Tony Stark was not born a superhero however. His best virtues developed through conscience choice and happenstance. At his best he could be considered opportunistic and at his worst, a drunk and a war profiteer. Like many men in positions of power, Tony has fallen victim to his vices - in his case - alcoholism. Though he has fallen off the wagon several times, Tony has always found the fortitude to overcome his addiction with the help of his closest friends. Biography Origin The son of a wealthy industrialist and head of Stark Industries, Howard Stark, and Maria Stark, Anthony Edward Stark was born on Long Island. A boy genius, he enters MIT at the age of 15 to study electrical engineering and computer science. After his parents are killed in a car accident, he inherits his father's company. While observing the effects of his experimental technologies on the American war effort, Tony Stark is injured by a booby trap and captured by the enemy led by Wong-Chu, who then orders him to design weapons. However, Stark's injuries are dire and shrapnel is moving towards his heart. His fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose work Stark had greatly admired during college, constructs a magnetic chest plate to keep the shrapnel from reaching Stark's heart, keeping him alive. In secret, Stark and Yinsen use the workshop to design and construct a suit of powered armor, which Stark uses to escape. But during the escape attempt, Yinsen sacrifices his life to save Stark's by distracting the enemy as Stark recharges. Stark takes revenge on his kidnappers and heads back to rejoin the American forces, on his way meeting a wounded American Marine fighter pilot, James "Rhodey" Rhodes. A hero emerges Back home, Stark discovers that the shrapnel fragment lodged in his chest cannot be removed without killing him, and he is forced to wear the armor's chestplate beneath his clothes to act as a regulator for his heart. He must also recharge the chestplate every day or else risk the shrapnel killing him. The cover for Iron Man is that he is Stark's bodyguard and corporate mascot. To that end, Iron Man fights threats to his company, such as Communist opponents Black Widow, the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man, as well as independent villains like the Mandarin, who eventually becomes his greatest enemy. No one suspects Stark of being Iron Man as he cultivates an image as a rich playboy and industrialist. Two notable members of Stark's supporting cast at this point are his personal chauffeur Harold "Happy" Hogan and secretary Virginia "Pepper" Potts, to both of whom he eventually reveals his dual identity. Meanwhile, James Rhodes finds his own niche as Stark's personal pilot, revealing himself to be a man of extraordinary skill and daring. Demon in a bottle Eventually, Stark's heart condition is discovered by the public and treated with an artificial heart transplant. Later on, Stark expands on his armor designs and begins to build his arsenal of specialized armors for particular situations such as for stealth and space travel.23 However, Stark also develops a serious dependency on alcohol. The first time it becomes a problem is when Stark discovers that the national security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has been buying a controlling interest in his company in order to ensure Stark's continued weapons development for them. At the same time, Stark's business rival Justin Hammer hires several supervillains to attack Stark. At one point, the Iron Man armor is even taken over and used to murder a diplomat. Although Iron Man is not immediately under suspicion, Stark is forced to hand the armor over to the authorities. Eventually Stark and Rhodes, who is now his personal pilot and confidant, track down and defeat those responsible, although Hammer would return to bedevil Stark again. With the support of his then-girlfriend, Bethany Cabe, his friends and his employees, Stark pulls through these crises and overcomes his dependency on alcohol. These events were collected and published as "Demon in a Bottle". Even as he recovers from this harrowing personal trial, Stark's life is further complicated when he has a confrontation with Doctor Doom that is interrupted by an opportunistic enemy sending them back in time to the time of King Arthur. Once there, Iron Man thwarts Doom's attempt to solicit the aid of Morgan Le Fay, and the Latverian ruler swears deadly vengeance - to be eventually indulged sometime after the truce needed for both to return to their own time. This incident was collected and published as Doomquest. Relapse Some time later, a ruthless rival, Obadiah Stane, manipulates Stark emotionally into a serious relapse. As a result, Stark loses control of Stark International, becomes a homeless alcohol-abusing vagrant and gives up his armored identity to Rhodes, who becomes the new Iron Man for a lengthy period of time. Eventually, Stark recovers and joins a new startup, Circuits Maximus. Stark concentrates on new technological designs, including building a new set of armor as part of his recuperative therapy. Rhodes continues to act as Iron Man but steadily grows more aggressive and paranoid, due to the armor not having been calibrated properly for his use. Eventually Rhodes goes on a rampage, and Stark has to don a replica of his original armor to stop him. Rather than give Stark the satisfaction of taking Stane to trial, Stane commits suicide.32 Shortly thereafter, Stark regains his personal fortune, but decides against repurchasing Stark International until much later; he instead creates Stark Enterprises, headquartered in Los Angeles. ::This section requires further information to bring this article more up to date. Notes & Trivia * On Communism The comic took an anti-Communist stance in its early years, which was softened as opposition rose to the Vietnam War. This change evolved in a series of stories with Stark profoundly reconsidering his political opinions and the morality of manufacturing weapons for the military. Stark, however, shows himself to be occasionally arrogant and willing to let the ends justify the means. This leads to personal conflicts with the people around him, both in his civilian and superhero identities. Stark uses his personal fortune not only to outfit his own armor, but also to develop weapons for S.H.I.E.L.D. and other technologies such as the Quinjets used by the Avengers, and the image inducers used by the X-Men. Appearances See also External Links * Tony Stark at MDP * * Tony Star at Wikipedia * * * References ---- Category:Avengers/Members Category:Comic book characters Category:Engineers Category:Superheroes Category:Businesspeople Category:Business owners Category:S.H.I.E.L.D./Members Category:Stark Industries personnel Category:Stark Resilient personnel Category:Captain America: Power and Glory/Characters Category:Iron Man: Extremis/Characters Category:Inventors Category:Illuminati/Members